Final Fantasy IX Ability PropertiesAbilitiesare special powers that each character possesses. There
are a ton of different abilities, but generally they fall into 2
categories.†Action AbilitiesSignified by a red jewel icon,
these are magic spells and special moves you can use in battle. Oftentimes, it
consumes MP to use them.Support AbilitiesSignified by a
blue-green jewel icon, these are special abilities that support and protect
characters during battle.†For support abilities to be functional, you
must equip them with magic stones. Similar to MP, the maximum number of stones a
character can use to equip abilities increases as the character levels up. The
Main Menu shows two numbers for magic stones: the remaining number and the
maximum number. The first number shows the remaining stones and will decrease as
you equip support abilities. The second number indicates the maximum number
usable by the character and increases as a character levels up.†To set
magic stones on support abilities, select Ability in the Main Menu, and then
select Equip. There are circles next to each support ability. The skill or guard
is equipped if a magic stone appears to fill the slot. The Status Menu shows
which support abilities have been equipped. A darker icon indicates that the
ability is not equipped.†In general, you must equip items to learn
abilities. Most items hold special powers that help draw out a character's
innate abilities. Select Equip in the Main Menu to check which abilities a
character can learn from items.

You can use action and support abilities as soon as you equip the item.
However, you can't use them if the item is removed or replaced with another. To
use abilities without equipping items, the character must learn them by gaining
enough AP (Ability Points) for each ability. You gain AP by winning
battles.

Each ability has an AP Gauge. This shows how many AP have been
earned toward permanently learning the ability. When the ability is being
learned, a green bar fills the gauge to a certain point, and a ratio indicates
exactly how many points have been gained toward learning that ability. If the
gauge appears in red with three stars, then the character has gained enough AP
to use the ability without equipping an item.†You can press the X button
while in the Status Menu to view all of the abilities that a character has
learned. Continue to press the X button to page through the learned abilities.

It takes a different amount of AP to learn each ability. The same item that
teaches one character an ability may not teach all other characters the same
ability. In most cases, the other character must equip a different type of item,
such as an Add-on, to learn the ability. Also, one character may learn an
ability for 30 AP, whereas another character may need 50 AP to learn the same
ability.